000 Allen FMT (i-xxii) - The Presbyterian Leader

Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany/Year C 225
green tree,” etc.) but in their false use of the “horns of their altars”
(17:1–3a). The horns were extensions on the corners of ancient altars on
which the blood of sacrifices was applied and to which people seeking
safety could cling. The horns no longer offered protection but were
instead evidence of the people’s indictment. As a result, the prophet says,
God will give Judah’s treasure as a spoil to invaders and will “make you
serve your enemies in a land that you do not know” (17:3b–4).
Jeremiah 17:5–8 has the flavor of Wisdom literature, prompting some
scholars to think that it originally came from a sage. With the memory of
the exile incited by 17:1–4, verses 5–8 prompt the congregation to consider
whether they would like to live under a curse (similar to 17:1–4) or
blessing. God intended life to be an experience of blessing, that is, mutual
support, shalom, justice, and material abundance in community. To be
cursed is to be denied blessing. Curse is manifest through fractiousness in
community, injustice, and scarcity.
According to Jeremiah 17:5–6, communities are cursed when they trust
in human beings whose plans are not informed by God and when their
hearts turn away from God and toward idols. Then they will be like shrubs
in the desert that receive no water; they will live in parched wilderness,
indeed, in uninhabited salt lands. These images recollect the drought of
Jeremiah 14:1–10 (Proper 25/Year C) and imply that the drought resulted
from idolatry.
In contrast are those who trust in God. In this setting trust is not only
an act of the mind but refers to living in God’s covenantal ways (Jer.
14:7–8). To trust God is actively to turn away from idols, false alliances,
and injustice, to worship the living God, and to practice justice. Such communities
then and now are like a tree planted by a stream of water, a source
of life that will not dry up. When the heat (adversity) comes, its leaves stay
green even in the drought.
The human heart, unfortunately, is devious; that is, human beings have
a hard time discerning God’s purposes and living according to them
(17:9). Nevertheless, readers can be assured that God will eventually deal
with all people and situations justly (17:10). God will apportion curse or
blessing according to the fruit of their doing, that is, according to the
degree to which they have walked in God’s ways.
The Gospel lection is Luke 6:17–26, the first section of the Sermon on
the Plain with its beatitudes and woes. Although there is no direct literary
relationship between the passages from Jeremiah and Luke, hearing
the curses (woes) and blessings (beatitudes) in Jeremiah reminds the listener
of the Jewish character of the Sermon on the Plain.